April 11
Events * 491 - Flavius Anastasius becomes Byzantine Emperor, with the name of Anastasius I. *1079 - Bishop Stanislaus of Krakow is executed by order of Bolesław II of Poland. *1241 - Batu Khan defeats Béla IV of Hungary at the Battle of Muhi. *1512 - War of the League of Cambrai: French forces led by Gaston de Foix was victorious in the Battle of Ravenna. *1689 - William III and Mary II are crowned as joint sovereigns of Britain. *1713 - War of the Spanish Succession (Queen Anne's War): Treaty of Utrecht. *1775 - Last execution for witchcraft in Germany. *1828 - Foundation of Bahia Blanca *1849 - The safety pin is patented by Walter Hunt *1856 - In Rivas, Nicaragua, Juan Santamaria burns down the hostel where William Walker's filibusters are holed up. *1865 - Abraham Lincoln makes his last public speech. *1868 - The Shogunate is abolished in Japan. *1876 - The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is organized. *1888 - The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam is inaugurated. *1899 - Spain cedes Puerto Rico to the United States. *1905 - Einstein reveals his Theory of Relativity (special relativity). *1919 - International Labour Organization founded. *1921 - First sports broadcast on the radio. * 1921 - The Emirate of Transjordan is created. * 1921 - Iowa becomes the first U.S. state to impose a cigarette tax. *1945 - World War II: United States forces liberate Buchenwald concentration camp. *1951 - Korean War: President Harry S. Truman relieves General Douglas MacArthur of overall command in Korea. * 1951 - The Stone of Scone, the stone upon which Scottish monarchs were traditionally crowned, is found on the site of the altar of Arbroath Abbey. It had been taken by Scottish nationalist students from its traditional (to the British government) location in Westminster Abbey. *1952 - The Battle of Nanri island takes place. *1955 - The Air India Kashmir Princess downs in a failed assassination attempt on Zhou Enlai by the Kuomintang. *1957 - Britain agrees to Singaporean self-rule. * 1961 - Trial of Adolf Eichmann begins in Jerusalem. *1965 - The Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of 1965: Fifty-one tornadoes hit in six Midwestern states, killing 256 people. *1968 - Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing. * 1968 - German student leader Rudi Dutschke is shot in Berlin. *1970 - Apollo 13 is launched. *1979 - Ugandan dictator Idi Amin is deposed. *1981 - A massive riot in Brixton, South London, results in almost 300 police injuries and 65 serious civilian injuries. * 1981 - President Ronald Reagan returns to the White House from the hospital, 12 days after he was wounded in an assassination attempt. *1987 - The London Agreement is secretly signed between Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Shimon Peres and King Hussein of Jordan. *1990 - Customs officers in Middlesbrough, United Kingdom, say they have seized what they believe to be the barrel of a massive gun on a ship bound for Iraq. *1996 - Panathinaikos becomes the first Greek team to win the European Championships (now Euroleague) in Paris, beating FC Barcelona by 67-66. *1997- Chloe Conaway Zack was born *2000 - AT&T Park in San Francisco, Minute Maid Park in Houston, and Comerica Park in Detroit open. *2001 - The detained crew of a United States EP-3E aircraft that landed in Hainan, People's Republic of China after a collision with an J-8 fighter is released. * 2001 - Australia beat American Samoa 31-0 in a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying game, an international record in which Archie Thompson scored 13 goals *2002 - The Ghriba synagogue bombing by Al Qaeda kills 21 in Tunisia. * 2002 - An attempted coup d'état in Venezuela against President Hugo Chávez began. * 2003 - U.S. troops take the northern Iraqi city of Mosul without a fight. *2006 - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announces that Iran has successfully enriched uranium. * 2007 - Two bombings in the Algerian capital of Algiers, kills 33 people and wounds a further 222 others. 2007 Algiers bombings. Births * 146 - Septimius Severus (d. 211) *1357 - John I of Portugal (d. 1433) *1374 - Roger Mortimer (d. 1398) *1492 - Marguerite of Navarre, wife of Henry II of Navarre (d. 1549) *1592 - John Eliot, English statesman (d. 1632) *1705 - William Cookworthy, English chemist (d. 1780) *1721 - David Zeisberger, Moravian missionary (d. 1808) *1722 - Christopher Smart, English poet (d. 1771) *1755 - James Parkinson, English physician (d. 1824) *1769 - Jean Lannes, French marshal (d. 1809) *1770 - George Canning, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1827) *1798 - Macedonio Melloni, Italian physicist (d. 1854) *1810 - Henry Rawlinson, English scholar (d. 1895) *1819 - Charles Hallé, German pianist and conductor (d. 1895) *1825 - Ferdinand Lassalle, German politician (d. 1864) *1852 - Cap Anson, American baseball player (d. 1922) *1862 - Charles Evans Hughes, 11th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1948) * 1862 - William Wallace Campbell, American astronomer (d. 1938) *1867 - Mark Keppel, Superintendent of Schools of Los Angeles County (d. 1928) *1869 - Gustav Vigeland, Norwegian sculptor (d. 1943) *1873 - Edward Lawson, Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross (d. 1955) *1876 - Paul Henry, Northern Irish artist (d. 1958) *1883 - Hozumi Shigeto, Japanese author (d. 1951) *1889 - Nick LaRocca, American musician (d. 1961) *1890 - Donna Rachele Mussolini, wife of Benito Mussolini (d. 1979) *1893 - Dean Acheson, U.S. Secretary of State (d. 1971) *1896 - Léo-Paul Desrosiers, Quebec novelist (d. 1967) *1899 - Percy Lavon Julian, American chemist (d. 1975) *1900 - Sandor Marai, Hungarian writer (d. 1989) *1906 - Dale Messick, American cartoonist (d. 2005) *1907 - Ivor Spencer-Thomas, English farmer, entrepreneur and inventor (d. 2001) *1908 - Jane Bolin, first African American female judge (d. 2007) * 1908 - Masaru Ibuka, Japanese industrialist (Sony) (d. 1997) * 1908 - Dan Maskell, English tennis commentator (d. 1992) * 1908 - Leo Rosten, American humorist and author (d. 1997) *1910 - António de Spínola, Portuguese general and politician (d. 1996) *1911 - Stanisława Walasiewicz aka Stella Walsh, Polish-born runner (d. 1980) *1913 - Oleg Cassini, American fashion designer (d. 2006) *1914 - Norman McLaren, Canadian film animator and director (d. 1987) * 1914 - Robert Stanfield, Premier of Nova Scotia (d. 2003) *1916 - Alberto Ginastera, Argentine composer (d. 1983) * 1916 - Howard W. Koch, American film director (d. 2001) *1917 - Danny Gallivan, Canadian radio and television sportscaster (d. 1993) * 1917 - David Westheimer, American novelist (d. 2005) *1918 - Richard Wainwright, English politician (d. 2003) *1921 - Jim Hearn, American baseball player (d. 1998) *1925 - Pierre Péladeau, Canadian businessman and newspaper editor (Quebecor) (d. 1997) *1928 - Ethel Kennedy, wife of Robert F. Kennedy *1930 - Anton LaVey, American founder of the Church of Satan (d. 1997) *1931 - Johnny Sheffield, American actor * 1931 - Koichi Sugiyama, Japanese composer *1932 - Joel Grey, American singer and actor *1933 - Tony Brown, American journalist *1934 - Mark Strand, Canadian-born American poet *1935 - Richard Berry, American singer and composer (d. 1997) * 1935 - Richard Kuklinski, American mafia hitman (d. 2006) *1938 - Michael Deaver, Reagan Administration Deputy White House Chief of Staff (d. 2007) * 1938 - Kurt Moll, German bass *1939 - Louise Lasser, American actress *1941 - Ellen Goodman, American political columnist *1944 - John Milius, American director and writer *1946 - Bob Harris, British disc jockey and presenter *1947 - Peter Riegert, American actor * 1947 - Meshach Taylor, American actor *1948 - Marcello Lippi, Italian football coach *1949 - Bernd Eichinger, German film producer * 1949 - Carl Franklin, American actor *1951 - Doris McGowen Beck Angleton, American socialite (d. 1997) * 1951 - Paul Fox, English guitarist (The Ruts) (d. 2007) * 1951 - James Patrick Kelly, American author *1953 - Andrew Wiles, British mathematician * 1953 - Guy Verhofstadt, Prime Minister of Belgium *1955 - Kevin Brady, American politician * 1955 - Michael Callen, American singer, songwriter and AIDS activist (d. 1993) *1958 - Stuart Adamson, British musician (Big Country) (d. 2001) * 1958 - Brynn Hartman, American murderer (d. 1998) *1960 - Jeremy Clarkson, British journalist *1961 - Doug Hopkins, American musician *1962 - Vincent Gallo, American actor *1963 - Chris Ferguson, American poker player * 1963 - Billy Bowden, test cricket umpire from New Zealand *1964 - Johann Sebastian Paetsch, American cellist *1966 - Mason Reese, American actor * 1966 - Virgil Runnels III, American professional wrestler (Dustin Rhodes; Goldust; Black Reign) * 1966 - Lisa Stansfield, English singer *1968 - Sergey Lukyanenko, Russian author *1969 - Cerys Matthews, Welsh singer (Catatonia) * 1969 - Chisato Moritaka, Japanese singer *1970 - Trevor Linden, Canadian ice hockey player * 1970 - Johnny Messner, American actor *1971 - Oliver Riedel, German musician (Rammstein) *1972 - Jason Varitek, American baseball player * 1972 - Balls Mahoney, American professional wrestler *1973 - Jennifer Esposito, American actress *1974 - Trot Nixon, American baseball player * 1974 - Anton Glanzelius, Danish actor * 1974 - Tricia Helfer, Canadian model and actress * 1974 - Àlex Corretja, Spanish tennis player * 1974 - Zoe Lucker, British Television Actress *1975 - Walid Soliman, Tunisian author *1978 - Brett Claywell, American actor * 1978 - Josh Hancock, American baseball player (d. 2007) *1979 - Malcolm Christie, English footballer * 1979 - Chris Gaylor, American drummer * 1979 - Michel Riesen, Swiss ice hockey player * 1979 - Josh Server, American actor *1979 - Sebastien Grainger, Canadian musician *1980 - Mark Teixeira, American baseball player *1981 - Alessandra Ambrosio, Brazilian model * 1981 - Alexandre Burrows, Canadian ice hockey player *1982 - Ian Bell, English cricketer *1983 - Nicky Pastorelli, Dutch racing driver *1984 - Kelli Garner, American actress *1985 - Will Minson, Australian rules footballer *1986 - Roman Heart, American porn actor *1987 - Joss Stone, English singer *1994 - Dakota Blue Richards, English child actress *2002 - Alexa Gerasimovich, American child actress Deaths *1034 - Romanus III, Byzantine emperor (b. 1028) *1240 - Llywelyn the Great, King of Gwynedd *1554 - Thomas Wyatt the younger, English rebel (b. 1521) *1612 - Emanuel van Meteren, Flemish historian (b. 1535) * 1612 - Edward Wightman, English Baptist preacher (b. 1566) *1626 - Marino Ghetaldi, Croatian mathematician (b. 1568) *1712 - Richard Simon, French Biblical critic (b. 1638) *1723 - John Robinson, English diplomat (b. 1650) *1798 - Karl Wilhelm Ramler, German poet (b. 1725) *1856 - Juan Santamaría, national hero of Costa Rica (b. 1831) *1861 - Francisco González Bocanegra, Mexican poet (b. 1824) *1873 - Edward Canby, U.S. general (b. 1817) *1890 - Joseph Merrick, "The Elephant Man" (b. 1862) *1894 - Constantin Lipsius, German architect (b. 1832) *1906 - James Anthony Bailey, American circus impresario (b. 1847) * 1906 - Francis Pharcellus Church, American editor and publisher (b. 1839) *1916 - Richard Harding Davis, American author (b. 1864) *1926 - Luther Burbank, American botanist (b. 1849) *1947 - Louise Peete, American murderess (b. 1880) *1953 - Kid Nichols, American baseball player (b. 1869) *1958 - Konstantin Yuon, Russian painter (b. 1875) *1967 - Donald Sangster, Jamaican prime-minister (b. 1911) *1970 - Cathy O'Donnell, American actress (b. 1923) * 1970 - John O'Hara, American author (b. 1905) *1977 - Jacques Prévert, French poet and screenwriter (b. 1900) *1983 - Dolores del Rio, Mexican actress (b. 1905) *1985 - Enver Hoxha, Albanian Communist dictator (b. 1908) * 1985 - Bunny Ahearne, British ice hockey promoter (b. 1900) *1987 - Erskine Caldwell, American author (b. 1903) * 1987 - Primo Levi, Italian chemist and author (b. 1919) *1990 - Harold Ballard, Canadian ice hockey club owner and executive (b. 1903) * 1990 - Xenophon Zolotas, Greek economist, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1904) *1991 - Walker Cooper, American baseball player (b. 1915) *1992 - Alejandro Obregón, Colombian painter (b. 1920) *1992 - Eve Merriam, American playwright, director, and poet (b. 1916) *1996 - Jessica Dubroff, American pilot (b. 1988) *2000 - Diana Darvey, British actress, singer and dancer (b. 1945) *2001 - Sandy Bull, American musician (b. 1941) * 2001 - Harry Secombe, Welsh actor and comedian (b. 1921) *2003 - Cecil Howard Green, British geophysicist and businessman (b. 1900) *2005 - André François, French cartoonist (b. 1915) * 2005 - Lucien Laurent, French footballer (b. 1907) *2006 - June Pointer, American singer (Pointer Sisters) (b. 1953) * 2006 - Proof, American rapper (D12) (b. 1973) *2007 - Roscoe Lee Browne, American actor (b. 1925) * 2007 - Kurt Vonnegut, American author (b. 1922) * 2007 - Ronald Speirs, American Army officer(CO of Easy Company) (b. 1920) * 2007 - Janet McDonald, American novelist (b. 1954) Holidays and observances *Juan Santamaría Day, anniversary of his death in the Battle of Rivas (State holiday in Costa Rica). Liturgical feasts *The Feast Day of Martyr Antipas in the Greek Orthodox Church. In the Catholic church: *Saint Stanislaus of Szczepanów *Saint Gemma of Lucca *Saint Godeberta External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- Category:April